1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a vehicle meter provided with a display panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, as a vehicle meter such as speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge, or water temperature gauge, there is proposed a device in which an indicator needle is combined with a display panel such as liquid crystal display panel, in order to improve luxury taste or the like (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-218682).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-218682 describes a vehicle meter unit capable of switching a first display mode and a second display mode. In the first display mode, a meter indication value is displayed by means of a scale mark image displayed on a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen and an indicator needle mounted outside the LCD screen. In the second display mode, information other than the meter indication value is digitally displayed.
The inventor founds that the vehicle meter unit described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-218682 has some features to be improved. Specifically, when the information other than the meter indication value is displayed, the indicator needle is retracted to outside of a display area of the LCD screen. Therefore, the user cannot view the meter indication value by means of the indicator needle, while the information other than the meter indication value is displayed.